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Monday, July 8, 2013

MOSAIC TALKS: Interview with Simona Canino

Simona Canino, mosaic artist from Calabria in Italy

From the moment I connected with Simona, we immediately
clicked! It has to be because she is a happy and a genuine person with a
lot to talk about and share so the idea of asking her for an interview
for Mosaicology popped up naturally. Simona talks about how she fell in
love with mosaic, how unique mosaic is and gives some interesting tips
to mosaic artists.

Enjoy!

(Italian original text after the pictures)

Interview in English

Why mosaic?
Why did you choose this specific art medium as a means of self expression?

While I was attending my last year at the
scientific high school, I was thinking of choosing to study art and the
scenarios that I favored most were basically two: the Istituto Centrale per il
Restauro (Central Institute for Restoration) in Rome and the Opificio delle
Pietre Dure (Semi-precious stones workshop) in Florence. One day I discovered
by chance that there was an old mosaic workshop in the Vatican called the Fabbrica di San Pietro and so we made an
appointment and went to visit. It was love at first sight! The Fabbrica’s director was from Friuli and had
been a student at the Scuola Mosaicisti
del Friuli and he told me the nicest things about the school. As soon as I
finished high school, my parents and I went to visit the mosaic school in
Friuli and naturally I made my decision that SMF was where I would go. My
parents encouraged me a lot; the school was 1200km from my home town!

Do you
perhaps recall the first mosaic you saw and which one was the first mosaic you
created?

The first mosaic I saw was a copy of the Irises by
Van Gogh in the Fabbrica di San Pietro. My first mosaic was a way for me to try my first martellina and that was even before going to mosaic school. It was
a detail of the “Doves drinking water” from the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia in
Ravenna (needless to say the result was horrible!!)

Make a living
from art. Few people make it but when it comes to mosaic, things appear more
positive since this is an art medium with practical functions. Not just framed
pictures but also objects, mosaic for interior design, tables etc. Anyhow,
which would you say are the obstacles and the problems that a mosaic artist
encounters today?

The
main problem is that mosaic is a technique
that involves significant costs due to the distinctiveness of the
materials
employed while the time required to produce a mosaic is long, and as a
consequence
not everybody can have access to it, especially for mosaics of medium
and large
dimensions. This is also why I create objects of modest dimensions such
as clocks, jewellery, boxes, small mirrors, using also “poor” materials
such as shells,
tiles, pebbles, terracotta, mirrors and reused wood. However, the colour
effects
and stunning reflecting qualities of smalti and venetian gold remain
unrivaled.In conclusion, what advice would you
give to artists that start their mosaic business now or to those that are
trying to establish themselves in the world of mosaic?

I’d advise them to stay, as much as possible, in
direct contact with the large traditional mosaic production centres like
Ravenna, Spilimbergo and Rome but also try to work for avant-guard companies
like Sicis or Bisazza, to learn the ancient techniques well (including
restoration), but also to experiment with new materials and methods. Basically,
no course of action should be ruled out. Check out Simona's website HERE and connect with her on Facebook HERE

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